Olathe, KS Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- New billboards
- Prohibited citywide
- Digital face conversion
- Barred on existing billboards
- Video/electronic signs
- Prohibited outright
- Existing billboard status
- Legal nonconforming only
Summary
Olathe bans new billboards citywide and blocks existing nonconforming billboards from adding digital faces, extra illumination or moving panels under the sign code.
No new billboards may be constructed in any zoning district. ... A legal nonconforming billboard may not be increased in size or elevation, relocated to another site or to a new location on the same site or expanded, enlarged, or extended in any way, including, but not limited to, the addition of advertising faces, the addition of digital faces, adding additional illumination or the addition of rotating faces with moveable panels designed to create additional advertising.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-39, passed July 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
The UDO's billboard section treats every billboard in the city as legal nonconforming, since none may be newly built. Section 18.50.190.L states no new billboards may be constructed in any zoning district, and any billboard still standing survives only as a nonconforming use. Under § 18.50.190.L.3.b, an existing nonconforming billboard can't be enlarged, relocated, or expanded in any way: including adding advertising faces, digital faces, extra illumination, or rotating panels. Separately, electronic preview boards and video-screen signs are barred outright everywhere in the city.
Violations & Fines
Adding a digital face to a billboard or building a new one is a UDO offense: up to a $500 fine or six months in jail per offense, plus permit revocation and removal, with each day a separate violation (§ 18.70.030.F).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard owner convert an existing sign to digital in Olathe?
Are new billboards allowed anywhere in Olathe?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Olathe
Compare Olathe to another location·View the Kansas sign regulations overview
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